Hasp seal



May 6, 1958 A. DIETZE HASP SEAL Filed Nov. 2, 1955 3%5 INVENTOIZ Mm flicga BY wxwmm 7 w ATTORNEY HASP SEAL 7 Arthur Dietze, Three Bridges, N. J. Application November 2, 1955, Serial No. 544,399

4 Claims. (Cl. 292-315) This invention pertains to an improved construction of a hasp seal operating to maintain the hasp of a door, or container, or the like, in a closed position;

The invention further pertains to the novel structure of a hasp seal'which is assembled in a staple and against a hasp and is movable in that assembly to a predetermined extent but which may not be removed from its engagement with the staple and hasp without the 'seal being broken, thereby showing that an unauthorized person has obtained entry into the container, or box, or room, where he is not entitled to be.

In providing a lock for any container, a staple is usually attached to the container and the cover therefor carries a hasp which folds down over the staple. There are openings in both the staple and hasp and after assembly, the opening in the staple is large enough to receive States Patent O Fig. 3 is a bottom edge view of the seal;

P Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-,4 of ig. 1; v V

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the assembly of the seal with a: staple and hasp on a container and showing fabricated and deformed parts of the seal; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in Fig. 5.

The preferred form of seal herein is a unit that is assembled with a staple and hasp which are employed to maintain a door, or a container, or a box, or any receptacle in locked condition. The improved construction of the sealis such that it cannot be removed from its assembly with the staple and hasp without being broken. One of the advantageous features is that part of the seal cannot be bent and pulled through the staple and afterwards reassembled and rebent to its original shape. An-

a holding article to maintain the clasp in assembled engagement with the staple.

One of the features of this invention is to provide a novel light weight holding article or seal thatis inserted in the staple and against the hasp and ;is then deformed in partso thatit cannot be removed 'withoutbeing broken, or cannot be bent or folded in a manner that would allow the hasp to be disassembled from the staple and thereafter returned and the seal re-bent to have the appearance of never having been tampered with.

Another feature of the invention is to provide a low cost improved hasp seal that may be quickly assembled with a hasp and staple and have one of portions easily deformed so that the seal may not be removed,-from the hasp without being broken.

A further feature of this improved invention is to provide anovel seal of light weight and of relatively thin material but having certain portions strengthened by reformation or reinforcement, -or "otherwise, to an extent that allows thev sealto be somewhat .moved afterqbeing other part of the seal is deformed to an extent that prevents the seal from being pulled through the staple from the other direction. Thus, the improved seal can be assembled and thereafter deformed to maintain the staple and hasp in engagement until the seal is broken.

Under these circumstances it is desired to obtain an improved seal that is of low cost, and which is easily fabricated, and which after assembly cannot be removed without being "broken. It has been found that the seal can be made of metal, such as sheet steel or sheet aluminum, or of a treated or untreated plastic, or of a reinforced material, or of any other material which meets the requirements of keeping unauthorized persons out of rooms, or containers, or receptacles.

Referring now to the drawings and especially to Figs. 5 and 6, a portion of a container It) is illustrated with a staple 11 fastened to the body of the container. A suitablecover 12 for the container is provided and it has a hasp :13 which extends downwardly and folds over the staple 11 .by reason of the opening 14 in the hasp which opening receives the staple 11. v

It is preferred that the improved seal herein be'a onepiece body or unit, originally of flat material providing a plate-like body portion 15 which may be noted as a second .or lower portion of the seal after the upper part thereof has been punched to form a somewhat semicircular ;slot 16 which is open at one side to form an access gap .17 and to form an arm or upper portion 18 of the seal. In the punching out arrangement, it is preferred that the arm 18 be approximately semi-circular or assembled *ina .hasp anddeformed in one part ,sothat it cannot be withdrawn from its assembly with;the ihasp and staple. At the same time part of the seal is available for definite instructions of assembly and sealing, or for receiving identification markings, or for advertising matter, or for definite lettering, or for carrying or having numbers impressed therein.

Another feature of this invention is the formation of a seal from a usual flat piece of metal, plastic, or reinforced textile, whereby at least two portions of the piece are reformed or fabricated to increase the strength of those portions so that the portion thereof which is subjected to wearing will better resist wear, and another portion can be deformed after the seal has been assembled in the staple and against the hasp thereby to prevent removal of the seal without breaking it.

Other features and advantages will be appreciated when reading the detailed description below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the seal;

Fig. 2 is a top edge view of the seal;

arcuate and to provide the slot 16 also of semi circu'lar contour. The end of the arm 19 is usually rounded and is positioned to form one side of the opening or gap 17, the other ,end of the opening being a rounded tongue 20 forming part of the body or lower portion 15. {In forming the opening between the arm 18 and the body 15, it is preferred to form a lobe 21 which assists in creating the semi-circular slot 16. In addition, this lobe taken with the body or lower portion 15 makes it practically impossible to bend the body 15 in any fashion that would allow it to be pulled through the opening in staple 11.

In the preferred form of seal herein illustrated, it has been cut and deformed to a partial extent, thereby leaving an integral neck or rib 22 joining the body 15 and the arm 18. It is preferred that this neck or rib be deformed in a fashion usually to have an approximately rounded surface, which rounded surface materially reduces fric tional wear and allows successful cooperation between the staple 11 and the rib 22, as shown in Fig. 6. By the deforming of this neck or rib 22 in the fashion shown, it is impossible to bend the body or lower portion 15 in any manner that can be sufficiently rolled to be pulled through the staple 11, and the deforming of the rib prevents small enough bending of the body 15 to make it small.

Patented May 6, 1958' It is desired when forming the slot 16 that some of the metal be turned back onto-the arm 18 to form a reinforcing or stiffened and enlarged portion .23. The remainder of reinforcing the arm 18 may be handled inany manner satisfactory solong as the arm may be readily but does allow the seal to be oscillated up and down in t r the showings in Figs. 5 and 6-from against the bottom of the hasp to the top of the hasp, and when desired will still permit the seal to be moved toward the reinforced portion of arm 18 In order that the seal may be properly held in position with the staple and hasp and to prevent its removal, the enlarged reinforced portion 23 of the arm 18 is deformed to create a flattened portion 25, thereby leaving a stiffened rib 26 which gives additional transverse rigidity to the arm 18. Any attempt to stretch out, or to bend or t I the first portion and the second portion, or upper portion t and lower portion of the unitseal, and to provide a deformed part of the upper portion so as to prevent the removal thereof through the eye of the staple 11 after assembly, and also to prevent any folding of the upper portion with the idea of passing it through the eye of t the staple 11. In the event an unauthorized person endeavors to remove the seal, he will find that it will break before he can bend either the upper or lower portion thereof in a manner that would allow it to be pulled through the staple 11 and in so doing the seal itself would be broken. It will further be noted that the forming of the arm 18 in a curved manner and deforming it at 25 will provide a very satisfactory means of preventing an unauthorized person from bending this upper portion to have it pulled through the staple of the container. The

, seal would break before it could be bent sufficiently to withdraw it.

It will also he noted that the seal itself is made of light weight material capable of being deformed easily, and if deformed too much will be broken and thereafter be of no value. Such a seal of this nature has particular value in sealing the hasp and staple in telephone and other instrument coin boxes, and in assembling can be readily deformed to prevent disassembly.

It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the preferred form of the invention herein, and such modifications and changes are to be understood as part of this invention, as outlined in the following claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A seal for use with a staple that projects through a hasp, the projecting portion of the staple having an opening therethrough of substantially semi-circular shape and providing a bearing surface within the staple whereby the seal can be lifted and swung outwardly away from the plane of the front face of the hasp through which the staple projects, said seal including a one-piece unit having a body portion, an arm, and a neck connecting one end of the arm to the body portion, the arm being spaced from the body portion at all places except said neck for admitting the thickness of the staple between the arm and body portion when the arm is inserted through the opening in said staple, the material of the neck where the arm joins thebody portion being of an original transverse width substantially wider than the opening through the hasp and being deformed to at least an approximately semi circular cross section having an approximately rounded surface forming a bearing of less cross section than the bearing in the hasp and for pivotal movement therein, the arm beyond the neck being of less width than the opening through the staple but too wide to rotate in said opening, the 'arm having a deformable portion for location on the side of the staple remote from the neck when the seal is inserted through the staple and in its intended assembled relation with the hasp and staple, the original cross section of the deformable portion of the arm being sufficient to flatten to a width greater than the width of the opening through the staple.

2. The seal described in claim 1, and in which the entire length of the arm between the neck and the deformable portion is of substantially the same width.

3. The seal described in claim 1, and in which the body'portion of the seal is of substantially larger size than the arm and of a size to prevent its being pulled through said staple even after being bent.

4. The seal described in claim 1, and in which the neck consists of metal deformed in a somewhat circular manner and which presents a partially cylindrical area for contact with the staple when inserted through the opening in the staple. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

